king of fairyland, because they were able to sing so
sweetly and dance so deftly that no one in the kingdom could equal
them for grace and beauty. Dorani had the most lovely hair in the
world, for it was like spun gold, and the smell of it was like the
smell of fresh roses. But her locks were so long and thick that the
weight of it was often unbearable, and one day she cut off a shining
tress, and wrapping it in a large leaf, threw it in the river which
ran just below her window. Now it happened that the king's son was out
hunting, and had gone down to the river to drink, when there floated
towards him a folded leaf, from which came a perfume of roses. The
prince, with idle curiosity, took a step into the water and caught the
leaf as it was sailing by. He opened it, and within he found a lock of
hair like spun gold, and from which came a faint, exquisite odour.

When the prince reached home that day he looked so sad and was so
quiet that his father wondered if any ill had befallen him, and asked
what was the matter. Then the youth took from his breast the tress of
hair which he had found in the river, and holding it up to the light,
replied:

'See, my father, was ever hair like this? Unless I may win and marry
the maiden that owns that lock I must die!'

[Illustration: 'HE NEVER COULD PERSUADE HER TO SAY A SINGLE WORD']

So the king immediately sent heralds throughout all his dominions to
search for the damsel with hair like spun gold; and at last he learned
that she was the daughter of the scent-seller. The object of the
herald's mission was quickly noised abroad, and Dorani heard of it
with the rest; and, one day, she said to her father:

'If the hair is mine, and the king requires me to marry his son, I
must do so; but, remember, you must tell him that if, after the
wedding, I stay all day at the palace, every night will be spent in my
old home.'

The old man listened to her with amazement, but answered nothing, as
he knew she was wiser than he. Of course the hair was Dorani's, and
heralds soon returned and informed the king, their master, who
summoned the scent-seller, and told him that he wished for his
daughter to be given in marriage to the prince. The father bowed his
head three times to the ground, and replied:

'Your highness is our lord, and all that you bid us we will do. The
maiden asks this only--that if, after the wedding, she stays all day
at the palace, she may go back each night to her fathe